Clouds
by AvtrSpirit
Summary: When distressing news about a family member arrives at Air Temple Island, Jinora tries her best to keep her family strong. A story in two parts.
1. Part 1: Going South

A/N: My first fanfic ever. Any and every review appreciated, especially constructive criticism.

Part 1: Going South

Baby Rohan was crying. His peals, shrill and clear, reached Jinora's room. With a sigh, she carefully put down the tome she was reading and hurried to Rohan's nursery. When she arrived, she was not surprised to find Ikki and Meelo in the room, standing on either side of the crib. Their panicked look turned to guilt when they saw her.

"We were only trying to see if he wanted to play with us," Ikki said. She was speaking even faster than usual. "Mom has never left us alone in the room with him. We were sure that he would have more fun with us. Like Meelo, you, and I, do without mom. We didn't think he would be such a baby about being woken up."

Jinora walked to the crib with a smile. "Let me see what I can do," Jinora replied over Rohan's cries. She picked up her brother the way her mother had taught her and rocked him slowly back and forth. An air acolyte entered the room.

"I heard crying from down the hall. Is everything okay?"

"Yes," Jinora said. "Something must have woken him up from his sleep."

"I'll go get Pema. Her meditation session is almost over anyway."

The acolyte left. Soon Rohan's cries became quieter and quieter. Jinora said softly to Rohan, "There there. It's all fine now."

"No, it's not," Ikki muttered, looking glum.

"What's wrong, Ikki?" Jinora asked.

Instead of replying, Ikki left the room.

Jinora had half an urge to follow her but realized that she could not do so with Rohan. So she turned to Meelo.

"Why is Ikki unhappy?" she asked.

"It's cause you don't play with us anymore," he said.

She saw him rub some snot off his nose. Was Meelo about to cry?

"Ever since you went to spirit world," Meelo continued, "you've been in the library or in your room. You don't want to fly around with me and Ikki. That's why we wanted to play with Rohan cause you don't want to be with us."

Meelo also ran out, leaving behind a troubled Jinora.

...

They were all at the dinner table, waiting for Tenzin. Jinora had resolved to seek out her mother's advice after the meal regarding what Meelo had told earlier that day. However, when her father entered the room, all other thoughts went out of her mind. Tenzin looked devastated.

This was the first time she had seen her father lose control to an emotion that wasn't anger. He had been freer with expressing his joy ever since he found her in the spirit world. But the sadness and fear that was in his eyes now was so palpable that she turned her eyes away from him. She saw Ikki and Meelo do the same.

She heard him speak in a shaking voice. "Pema, could I talk to you outside?"

Her mother was already halfway to standing. She handed Rohan to Jinora and they left the room.

The siblings could not hear clearly the words from the conversation in the corridor but the tone of it made it through. Something bad had happened.

After a little while, Pema came in alone, her eyes teary. "Children," she said, trying to keep her voice as normal and kind as possible, "you have to go to your rooms and pack up your things tonight. Take your dinners with you."

"Where are we going, mommy?" Ikki asked, just as Jinora said, "What happened?"

"We are going to the Southern Water Tribe. Your father received a telegram from them tonight. Your grandmother is..." she broke off, took a deep breath, then said, "sick."

Jinora knew with a sinking feeling that it was worse than her mother was letting on. She saw that Ikki too understood this.

It was Meelo who said, "But grandma is the greatest healer in the world! She will have healed herself by the time that we arrive."

Pema tried to give him a comforting smile and said, "I am sure she will, honey. But your father is worried about her."

"So we have to go all the way to the the south pole?" Meelo said with a pout.

"Meelo," Jinora said sternly, "Grandma has always taken care of us whenever any of us have been sick. Now we have to do the same for her."

Jinora turned to her mother to confirm that she had said the right thing. Her mother's eyes were brimming with tears as she smiled and nodded her approval.

...

They left at dawn.

On the first day, they were flying low to not cause Rohan any discomfort brought on by high altitude. This slowed them down considerably and Tenzin was visibly restive. As was usual, he was sitting at the head of their air bison. Next, at the front of the saddle, were Pema, Rohan, and Jinora. Meelo and Ikki sat at the back of the saddle where movement of the tail caused a bouncing motion. On any other trip, they would be jumping high and low using their air bending but today they restrained themselves for the sake of their father.

When the wind picked up around their ears, it gave Jinora the perfect opportunity to talk to her mother without being overheard.

"Mom, how badly is grandma sick?"

Pema looked at Jinora for a few seconds. Jinora knew her mother was considering how much to tell her. The directness of her reply surprised her.

"She fell. From what I can tell, she was out on a walk alone and when she didn't return on time they sent someone to look for her. They found her unconscious at the bottom of a small but steep slope. The telegram spoke of multiple broken bones. It said..." at this point her voice started shaking "that when they took her to a healer, he immediately asked a telegram be sent to your father, uncle, and aunt. There wasn't any more than that."

Pema turned her face away. Jinora turned to look at her father. The sight of their father's back as they rode on the bison was a familiar one. They had learned to recognize his mood from the way he sat. When they had started the day, she could see that he was restive, fidgety. She had seen that before whenever they had been in a hurry. He had been urging Uggi to go faster.

But his posture now was unfamiliar. He was hunched over and listless. It filled her with fear to think that he may be crying.

They continued travelling along the Earth Kingdom coastline for the entire day, stopping only for short breaks for Uggi to rest. By evening time, Uggi was groaning from their day's journey. Pema urged Tenzin to stop and set camp for the day, but he refused. He would not stop until they reached Kyoshi Island.

Night fell and they journeyed along the coast by moonlight. It took them a few hours to get to Kyoshi Island. Tenzin flew Uggi directly to the island's telegraph station. When they landed, he leapt to the ground and asked Pema to make arrangements for the kids. He went inside the station.

The others alighted from Uggi, Jinora helping Pema get Rohan down safely. A few people who had seen them land, gathered around them. They walked Pema and the kids to the chief's house, while someone took Uggi to the air bison pen. The chief welcomed them all and made arrangements to eat and sleep.

After the dinner, Ikki and Meelo immediately went to their beds and slept. Although she too was tired, Jinora decided to accompany her mother who sat down with the chief and his wife, and explained the situation. As Pema talked, the chief's wife took Rohan from her and gently rocked him to sleep. After Pema had finished explaining, the chief and his wife suggested that they all rest for the night and leave the next morning. They realized that Uggi would be very tired so they offered one of the other bisons from the bison pen.*

[* When Avatar Aang found the herd of the first bisons other than Appa, he wanted to lead them back to the Air Temples. But three of the four temples had been abandoned and the fourth was populated by people from the Earth Nation. In his life, he had seen the cruelty with which men treated these flying giants. So he shepherded some to Air Temple Island and the rest to different holy places, relying on the sages and mystics to treat the gentle animals kindly. The only secular place that he allowed a bison pen to be built was Kyoshi Island. Some said that it was the Avatar's friend, Sokka who convinced him of the strategic location of Kyoshi Island. It was the central location in the south like the Air Temple Island was in the north. But Jinora had read another version of this story, one that she liked to believe. It said that Avatar Aang had done it as a sign of his faith in the Kyoshi Warriors and to show his gratitude for the time that they had comforted and treated a lost and hurt Appa.]

They waited for a while for Tenzin to show up. After an hour of idle chatter, the chief offered to take dinner to Tenzin at the telegraph station. Once he left, Pema and Jinora went to the guest quarters where Ikki and Meelo were already asleep. The chief's wife laid Rohan down into a makeshift crib. She wished them good dreams and left.

Pema turned to Jinora and said, "Honey, I am glad that you stayed with me at the dinner."

"No problem, mom. It wasn't a big deal," Jinora replied.

"It was. I know you are tired but you still stayed. My little girl has grown up. I guess I should have expected that the events of the harmonic convergence would have changed you. But I thought you would still be my little Jinora," she smiled sadly and continued "Yet you are now your own person."

"Thanks, mom. I try to be the best I can."

"That has always been true. But recently I have been worried that the change is too sudden. Honey, I do not want to hold you back from whatever your destiny is. But I also want you to have a proper childhood. How often have you played with your brother and sister since you saved the world?"

Jinora looked over to the sleeping forms of Ikki and Meelo. "Meelo said something similar to me yesterday. But I don't know, mom." She hugged her mother tightly. "If I am to play any part in establishing the harmony between spirits and humans, I have to know all about them. And all about us, too."

Pema sighed. "Sometimes I think you have too much of your father in you and not enough of your grandfather Aang. Anyway, it is getting late and we have an early start tomorrow. Let us go to sleep."

Jinora agreed and went to bed. She fell asleep instantly.

...

They took off at dawn on a new bison. This time Tenzin took them high up into clouds. When Rohan started to cry from the change in air pressure, Pema tried to console him but she did not ask Tenzin to go lower. From this, Jinora knew that the situation in South Pole must be dire. Tenzin must have talked to Pema about it after communicating with the south the previous night.

Soon Rohan's cries turned into shrill screams of pain. Even Tenzin must have heard it because he stopped ascending and made the bison go a little lower. But Rohan would not stop crying. Before Jinora could think of something to do, Ikki bounded up to them.

"Look, look, little brother, look at this!" And she used her airbending to spin the clouds around her into wonderful spiral shapes.

Startled by this display, Rohan hiccoughed and stopped crying. Ikki continued twisting the clouds and was soon joined by Meelo. The shapes that Ikki created were small and fast moving. Meelo's airbending, on the other hand, cut around Ikki's spirals in a hypnotic zig-zaggy fashion. Jinora noticed that even Pema was amazed at how their two patterns played with each other. Different but always complementary.

It struck Jinora that this is what Ikki and Meelo had been doing when she was off studying by herself. She realized that as much as she wanted to continue her spiritual education, she also did not want to lose the connection with her siblings. That she wanted it grow like it had in the past.

Well, no time better than the present, she thought. She stood up and with a massive flourish she spread her arms wide and moved. She created circles that encompassed all of Ikki's and Meelo's patterns. As a result, all of their efforts combined to make one shape, which was constantly shifting and changing, all the while moving forward.

"It looks similar to the symbol of the air nomads," Pema said, awestruck. "Except that I cannot quite tell what shape it is. It keeps shifting and changing..."

"Much like airbending itself," Tenzin finished her sentence, in a raw voice.

The siblings were so shocked to hear their father speak, they turned to him and let go of the patterns they were making. They saw that he had tears in his eyes.

"I had forgotten..." he said, trying to smile, "all the wonderful shapes your grandfather Aang used to make in the clouds to pass time during our long journeys. But if mother, your gran gran, was also with us, then the things they did were pieces of legend. Together they made the clouds dance to their whim. It was always a wonder to me, seeing two benders in such complete harmony. It was as if they were reading each others minds. I have never seen anything quite like it. Until now."

There was pride in his eyes for his children. Jinora was still surprised to have heard him speak. Since he had received the bad news in Air Temple Island, he had almost forgotten his family. Now he saw them again. And Jinora was happy to see that he was drawing comfort from them.

"Thanks, daddy," Meelo said. "Why don't you come play with us too?"

"Having seen the three of you in action, I think that is not a bad idea," Tenzin said, to the surprise of Jinora and Pema. "But I am not feeling up to it today. Why don't we start this when we get back to Air Temple Island?"

"Yeah!" Meelo cried. "We will be the new pieces of legend, daddy!"

Tenzin smiled. And as he turned back to guide the air bison, Jinora heard him say under his breath, "I know you will."


	2. Part 2: The Summit of the Spirit World

A/N: My first fanfic ever. Any and every review appreciated, especially constructive criticism.

Part 2 : The Summit of the Spirit World

The sun was nearing the western horizon when they landed at the medical centre of the southern water tribe. There were people at the gates waiting for their arrival. One ran up to them and led them inside in a hurry.

"I don't think we have long now," he said. "But you made it in time."

"What about Bumi and Kya?" Tenzin asked. "I heard last night that messages had been sent to them as well. What about Korra?"

"Your siblings arrived this morning. Luckily Kya was with Bumi as he was stationed on Whale Tale Island. They flew in on one of those Sato-planes. Unfortunately, we couldn't get our messages to the Avatar until this morning. When we contacted the Fire Nation, we were told that she was visiting the sun warriors. We heard back a few hours ago that the messengers found her early today morning and that she has set out for the Southern Tribe. But that means it will take her more than two days to get here."

"Is my mother conscious?" Tenzin asked. He was almost running through the corridors, his family close behind.

"Kya was able to wake her up when she arrived. Bumi and she, they talked to her for a little bit. But when she saw what it was costing your mother to speak, your sister put her back to sleep. I think she is waiting for your arrival to wake her up one last time."

When they arrived outside the room, Tenzin hesitated. Then he looked behind to his family. He nodded to them and they nodded back in support. They went in.

The hall was big but still crowded. Everyone important from the Southern Water Tribe was there, including Korra's parents and all the masters of the White Lotus that could make it. They all immediately made way for Tenzin and his family.

In the centre of the room Katara lay in a pool of water. A group of healers were continuously maintaining the flow of chi in her body. Tenzin saw Bumi and Kya sitting by their mother. Their eyes seemed to have dried out from crying. When they saw him, they rushed up to him. The very instant that they hugged him, he started sobbing into Bumi's shoulder. Kya leaned into him and Tenzin saw fresh tears flowing from her eyes.

After a few minutes, they composed themselves as best they could. Tenzin asked Kya, "So what now?"

"Her body is too broken to sustain itself," she replied. "When I woke her up, it was clear that she was in terrible pain, even though she tried to hide it. She really wants to talk to you and her grandkids so we have to wake her up again. But after that..." her voice started to shake "I think she just wants the pain to end."

Tenzin gulped twice. "Then we shouldn't draw it out." He reached out and gripped Pema's hand. Jinora stepped forward and took his other hand. Tenzin looked at her, surprised but grateful. They all went up to the pool.

Kya added her healing ability to those of the other healers. After a minute, she said in a worried voice, "It didn't take this long when I revived her earlier today."

But just as she finished speaking, Katara's eyes fluttered open. They all gathered around her. Tenzin held her face and could only say "Mother, mother" as tears fell from his eyes.

Katara spoke slowly and laboriously. "I am so glad you all made it. You are happy and healthy and that is good. That is just how I always wanted to go."

She looked over to her grandkids and held her hand out. Jinora took it. Katara whispered, "You three take care of yourselves. Be kind to each other and to Rohan, always."

"We will, gran gran," they replied in solemn unison.

Katara's eyes flitted from them to Pema, and then to her own children. She smiled a final smile as a tear fell from one eye.

"He... will... be... so... happy... when... I... tell... him... about... you..."

And with that, she was gone.

The mourning and wailing that began was loud and chaotic. It took them a few minutes to realize that Jinora was gone as well.

...

"Gran Gran!" Jinora cried.

Katara turned around in surprise. "Jinora, sweety, what are you doing here?"

"Where are we, Gran Gran?"

Katara looked around, smiled, and said, "To be honest, honey, I think you may have a better idea than I do."

Jinora tried to figure it out. They were on top of a tall and lonely mountain, that much was clear. But how did they get here? She looked further and saw that the summit of the mountain was very small but at the same time she couldn't see what land lay at the foot of the mountain. Because of the clouds.

Clouds thicker and denser than any she had every seen wreathed the mountain side, starting right below the summit. They were as far as the eye could see and in more shapes than she could imagine. And they were all utterly still.

"We are in the spirit world!" she exclaimed.

"That was my guess as well, sweety," Katara replied.

"Gran gran, what are you doing here? What am _I_ doing here?"

"I suspect that because of your strong ties to the spirit world, you got pulled into it as my spirit left the mortal world to find peace. I am sorry about that honey. I did not expect this would happen. As for what I am doing here: I am waiting."

"For what?"

"Not what, but who. I wait for him. He will come."

"Grandpa Aang?"

"Yes, dear."

"But Korra said that when Vaatu destroyed Raava, the spirits of all past avatars were disconnected from Raava and lost."

"I wouldn't say lost. I would say that they finally found peace, like the rest of us mortals do."

"Then how could Grandpa Aang come here?"

Katara smirked in a way that Jinora had never seen her do before. In fact, she couldn't quite tell if it was a 86 year old woman or a 15 year old girl she was seeing.

"Oh," Katara said, "a girl has her ways."

Suddenly the wind picked up and all the clouds moved. Katara looked up at the sky, her face radiating utter jubilation. Jinora saw that her gran gran's look had finally settled to a particular age. Neither 90 nor 15, but something in between. Then she followed her grandmother's gaze and her jaw fell open.

Riding a magnificent air bison, Avatar Aang came to the summit. All the clouds swirled and danced upon his approach. He landed, went up to Katara, and clutched both her hands with his. The clouds rushed to greet their union, covering the summit, and eventually becoming a gentle funnel that revolved around the mountain top.

"Hey beautiful," said Aang with a smile. "Wanna go penguin-sledding with me?"

Katara laughed and engulfed Aang in a hug. "Wherever we go, from now we shall go together."

After a few seconds, Aang turned to Jinora and said with a smile, "Well, isn't this a surprise! Friend of light spirits, reviver of Raava, and new hero of the Harmonic Convergence, it is my honour to finally meet you in person."

Jinora was still in shock at seeing her grandfather for the first time. When he hailed her with those words, she tried to form a reply but could only stutter, "N-no grandpa, I mean Avatar, I mean sir..."

Before she could say anymore, Aang had lifted her in his arms with a whoop of joy.

"Stop teasing her, Aang," said Katara.

"Hey, I never got to play with my grandkids like you did. This is the only chance I have," he replied with grin.

Now that Jinora could take a closer look at him, Aang also seemed younger than the latest photos she had seen of him. Both Katara and Aang looked to be in their early middle age. She wondered if that was a look they had shaped for themselves in the Spirit World, or if that was just how she was seeing them.

She also understood the uniqueness of this situation. And as badly as she wanted to bond with her grandfather, the first question that came from lips was: "How are you here, grandpa? Didn't the Avatar's connection get severed?"

Aang put her down. Before replying to her, he turned to Katara and said, "Looks like we have a curious one with us. She takes after her grandfather, and perhaps her uncle Bumi as well."

He turned back to Jinora and said, "Bumi was always very curious too. Couldn't leave well enough alone. But then," Aang added thoughtfully, "so was your granduncle Sokka. I guess it really runs in the family, doesn't it?

"Anyway, to answer your question: Yes, the Avatar's connection with their past lives has been severed. Korra can no longer contact me. And most of the other Avatars have moved on beyond the circles of this world. Without a great spirit like Raava to hold them, very few individuals can stay in the Spirit World."

"Like Iroh of the Fire Nation?"

"Yes. Now there was a rare individual indeed. I wouldn't be surprised if he is still around in the spirit world, giving good advice and great tea. But eventually, everyone moves on."

"Wow! You and Iroh must be tremendously connected to the spirits to be able to stay on."

"Haha! I wish I were, honey. But the truth is that in my case it has very little to do with my spirituality and a lot to do with the stubbornness of your gran gran."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there was this one time, this one terrible time, when the Avatar spirit was seriously injured. When that happened, your gran gran," here Aang looked lovingly at Katara, who blushed in return, "brought me back from the dead. She used her healing abilities to mend my body but at the same time reconnected me to the Raava. I was then able to journey into the spirit world and re-establish my connection with all my past lives.

"What she had done was beyond traditional healing. She was working at a spiritual level and that tied my spirit to hers. Now I was bound two-ways: once to Raava by birth, and then to Katara by miracle. This is why her arrival in the spirit world brought me forth as well. And it is also why when we leave here, our current forms will be forever laid to rest. Our next lives will begin afresh with no links to the past, just like everyone else."

As Jinora digested all this information, Katara came up to Aang. They put their arms around each other.

"Now, dear," Aang said to Jinora, "I have something to ask you."

Jinora braced herself. Ever since the incident with Raava, Jinora had been answering questions for Tenzin, the White Lotus, and the Air Acolytes about how she did what she had done.

But Aang said, "Tell me everything about your siblings!"

Jinora was surprised. That's when she remembered what her mother had said; that she was too much like her father and not enough like her grandfather. She thought for a bit and then answered his question.

"Well, Ikki is the curious one. She speaks like a hurricane and," Jinora smiled as she said this, "embarrasses everyone by putting her foot in her mouth. Except herself; she is never embarrassed. Meelo is younger than her and he is both funny and disgusting. Perhaps I should say he is funny because he is disgusting. Ikki and I used to tease him about being the world's only ugly baby, but he was completely unfazed. He would laugh with us instead.

"Baby Rohan is the newest addition to our family. Mom says that he is more peaceful a baby than either Ikki or Meelo. She compares him to me sometimes but, of course, I can't tell. Oh, and we are all airbenders!"

"I am glad that you are all airbenders. But what makes me really happy is that you are all so close. Just like Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin."

At that, a shadow passed across Jinora's face. She looked down to the ground.

"What's wrong, Jinora? Are they all okay?"

"Well... to be honest, uncle Bumi, aunt Kya, and Dad do fight. A lot. And lately, Ikki, Meelo, and I haven't been very close either." She added with a mumble, "Though that's probably my fault."

Aang also looked troubled. The clouds around them slowed down to a halt. It was then that Katara spoke up.

"I didn't want to interrupt the grandfather-granddaughter reunion but age gives a different perspective to these things. Aang, remember that time when soon after we met Toph, we drove her away in a haze of anger and insomnia? We thought we had lost her forever. We were young. As we got older, our differences got bigger too. And yet our family, Toph, Sokka, Zuko, Suki, you, and I, all of us held on to each other and our bonds only got stronger.

"It is true that Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin have developed some differences. But they never stopped loving each other. And in the past few months I have seen them find new joy in their relationship. They visit each other more often, and they have all put their lives on the line more than once for each other and for our grandchildren. Speaking of our grandchildren, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Because Jinora is the most grownup young person I have ever met and I know she will hold together every family that she is a part of."

Katara bent forward, took Jinora's face in her hands, and kissed her forehead. "I have complete faith in her."

Jinora realized that her eyes were wet with tears. When she saw both of them smiling at her, she resolved to do everything she could to make them proud. Marvelling at the connection between Katara and Aang, she now knew that her family need not be a distraction from her spiritual training but could in fact be an integral part of it. She hugged her grandparents around their waists and they held her close.

When she finally opened her eyes, they were gone. She wiped away her tears slowly. She looked around and saw that all the clouds were gone as well. As she looked up at the sky, she fancied that she saw a distant figure of an air bison growing smaller.

A couple of butterflies flitted toward her. She welcomed these friends with a smile. One landed on her hand. She raised it up and whispered, "Take me home."


End file.
